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Jalen Mayfield hoped to hear his name called in the first round. Then the second round came and went. He'll have to settle for the third. The junior offensive lineman was the second Michigan player to come off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, taken No. 68 by the Atlanta Falcons on Friday. It was later than where most draft analysts slotted Mayfield, an athletic 6-foot-5, 326-pound tackle with a large reach and high ceiling. He was the second Michigan player drafted by an NFL team this year, joining first-round pick Kwity Paye (No. 21, Colts). "I'm able to play center, guard, tackle. I'm pretty comfortable on the left (side)," Mayfield told reporters in March. "My freshman year, I played left tackle. And then the last two years, I played right tackle. So I'm really comfortable with both sides. "I think the more versatile you are, the better chance you have of lasting longer in the NFL." There's been no indication that Mayfield will play anything other than tackle at the next level. He played the position for three years at Michigan, where he moved from the left side to the right after his freshman season in 2018. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#7 OT) rSo/2021

OT *Jalen Mayfield, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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05/01/21 - Kwity Paye, Sr/2021, Michigan, 6-3, 261 (DS#1 DE) + More +

Michigan defensive end Kwity Paye has found a new home after being drafted No. 21 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the NFL Draft, and now his mother can retire. Paye was the second defensive lineman taken in the three-day draft that began Thursday night. His main goal has been to take care of his mother, Agnes, who fled with her family from the Liberian civil war and relocated them in 1999 to Rhode Island, where Paye was raised. "That was my goal my whole life," Paye told reporters late Thursday. "Seeing how she worked her whole life, that made me work harder." During a brief television interview after his selection, Paye announced his mother is "done working." "She's retired," he said, his mother beside him looking overjoyed. - Michigan Live

(DS#1 DE) Sr/2021

DE Kwity Paye, Michigan
News Source: Michigan Live
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04/26/21 - Willie Allen, rSr/2022, Michigan, 6-5, 343 (DS#83 OT) + More +

An offensive lineman who recently joined the Michigan football program appears ready to depart before ever playing a snap. Willie Allen, a graduate transfer from Louisiana Tech who joined the team in January, has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, a Michigan spokesman confirmed to MLive on Friday. Allen has not yet acknowledged the move, but seemed to hint at his plans Friday morning with a series of posts on social media. By all accounts, the 6-foot-6, 343-pound Allen was a full participant in Michigan's spring practices. And he figured to be a part of the offensive line this fall. However, his role remained a major question mark. Why? The Wolverines are set to return four players with starting experience up front, including both tackles. Allen started 13 games at left tackle for Louisiana Tech in 2019, earning honorable mention all-Conference USA honors, prior to his transfer to Michigan. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#83 OT) rSr/2022

OT Willie Allen, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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04/25/21 - Aidan Hutchinson, Sr/2022, Michigan, 6-7, 268 (DS#1 DE) + More +

Motivated to return this fall by an injury-plagued 2020 season that was cut short due to a pandemic, Aidan Hutchinson spoke of the need to "reset the culture" at Michigan. The Wolverines' star defensive end could have turned pro. He could have opted out of the season last fall and declared for the NFL draft right then and there. Truth be told, he never really considered it. He wanted to come back and lay the ground work for a program he grew up watching and idolizing. But how good will the Wolverines be? First-year coordinator Mike Macdonald has brought in a new scheme and new way of doing things, setting the stage for drastic changes to the Wolverines' defense in 2021.

How drastic remains to be seen. Players and coaches haven't said much, but they have revealed this: The looks are going to be much more diverse and multiple than before, and be influenced by the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, the team in which Macdonald last coached on. Where does that leave Hutchinson, a 6-foot-6, 269-pound defensive end? He'll still be an end in the traditional sense, but afforded more opportunities to play with his hand off the ground and rush the quarterback. "I'm fired up," Hutchinson told reporters in March. "We got a young staff and I really love all the coaches that coach Harbaugh brought in. There's kind of a different energy around Schembechler (Hall) these days. Everyone's excited." - Ann Arbor News

(DS#1 DE) Sr/2022

DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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04/18/21 - Jack Tuttle, rSr/2025, Michigan, 6-3, 211 (DS#999 QB) + More +

Allen said the plan is for starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to be ready for the season opener Sept. 4 at Iowa. But Allen won't play Penix if he's less than 100% as he continues to rehab from a torn ACL he suffered last November. Backup quarterback Jack Tuttle got the majority of reps this spring, especially after third-string quarterback Dexter Williams went down early in spring drills with a torn ACL, which leaves IU dangerously thin at the position. Tuttle passed for 362 yards with two TDs and one interception last season, going 1-1 as a starter and leading the Hoosiers to a win at Wisconsin. "Whenever he's going to be called upon, he's going to be ready, and I believe that," Allen said. "It's a special thing to have, and it's important." Allen felt Tuttle improved this spring in his ability to call checks at the line scrimmage and with ball security. "Taking care of the football, when he was pressured not making a bad decision," Allen said. "I've seen him really grow in that." - Herald Bulletin

(DS#999 QB) rSr/2025

QB Jack Tuttle, Michigan
News Source: Herald Bulletin
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04/07/21 - Zak Zinter, Sr/2024, Michigan, 6-6, 309 (DS#9 OG) + More +

Michigan offensive lineman Zak Zinter admits to having experienced some nervousness when he was called on last season to take over at right guard as a freshman. That was before the third game, but Zinter said he was instilled with confidence. Although he was an early enrollee who didn't have the advantage of participating in spring practice, canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 6-foot-6, 334-pound Zinter now knows how valuable that playing time was last fall and how important this spring has been.

"Getting in the games was huge," Zinter recently told reporters. "Just that experience is something you can't really create other than playing in the game itself. The experience was incredible, and I think I've come a very long way from a year ago when I stepped on campus as an early enrollee." He said he's using his hands more and staying low, and while the depth chart is in pencil now, Zinter appears to the starter at right guard next to tackle Andrew Stueber. Stueber had been playing at right guard last fall but moved to right tackle when Jalen Mayfield suffered a high ankle sprain. Zinter and Stueber developed a rhythm playing side-by-side those final games. "He has such a high ceiling," Mayfield said recently of Zinter. "He's very versatile, a very strong kid. He's very athletic, as well. I think he's gonna be a big part of what they have next year." - Detroit News

(DS#9 OG) Sr/2024

OG Zak Zinter, Michigan
News Source: Detroit News
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04/05/21 - Josh Ross, rSr/2022, Michigan, 6-1, 225 (DS#13 ILB) + More +

Perhaps for the first time since Michigan's football team concluded its abbreviated 2020 season are we getting an honest assessment. Sure, Jim Harbaugh made drastic changes to the coaching staff this offseason - a sign that he wasn't happy with the job done last fall. But the words have yet to come out of his mouth, leaving everyone wondering his true motive for upheaval. But a 2-4 record and defensive ranking near the bottom of the Big Ten (and 84th nationally) was lured linebacker Josh Ross back for a fifth season with the Wolverines, he told reporters on Thursday. "It was unfinished business," Ross said. "That was pretty obvious. Last year was not good enough for myself, and not good enough for our team. I felt I had to come back. I had to come back. And we have to prove something and have a chip on our shoulder and (have) go get it."

Ross - a fifth-year senior from Southfield, Mich. - called the team's struggles last fall "the main reason" for his return. He's appeared in 36 games over four seasons, starting 10 of them, and earned all-Big Ten honorable mention honors in 2018. Ross was named a team co-captain in 2020. "Coming back was about proving myself and proving ourself as a team," said Ross, who played in all six games last fall and lead the team in tackles (53). "Getting better and just building our football knowledge and building everything. Because last year wasn't good enough." - Ann Arbor News

(DS#13 ILB) rSr/2022

ILB Josh Ross, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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04/05/21 - Zak Zinter, Sr/2024, Michigan, 6-6, 309 (DS#9 OG) + More +

Michigan's offensive line went through trials and tribulations last fall while trying to adjust to changes at quarterbacks and injuries up and down the front five. The latter meant more opportunities for younger players, such as true freshman Zak Zinter, who earned snaps in all six games. But when right tackle Jalen Mayfield went down due to injury, forcing the Wolverines to move veteran Andrew Stueber over to his natural position, Zinter was plugged in to start at guard. "Huge," Zinter said Thursday to describe the opportunity. "That experience is something you can't really create, other than playing in a game itself. The experience was incredible. I think I've come a very long way from a year ago when I stepped on campus as an early enrollee."

Now, a year later, the 6-foot-6, 334-pound Zinter is in the mix for a permanent role along the offensive line. He's taking snaps at right guard again this spring - this time with a new offensive line coach, Sherrone Moore - and figures to be in the playing rotation, at the very least, this fall. Stueber is back at right tackle, while Michigan returns its starters at left tackle (Ryan Hayes), left guard (Chuck Filiaga) and center (Andrew Vastardis). - Ann Arbor News

(DS#9 OG) Sr/2024

OG Zak Zinter, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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04/03/21 - Blake Corum, Sr/2024, Michigan, 5-08, 205 (DS#4 RB) + More +

Michigan sophomore running back Blake Corum has drawn comparisons to Mike Hart, the program's all-time leading rusher, and not just because the two resemble each other in terms of stature. Corum is 5-foot-8, 200 pounds and Hart, who played for Michigan 2004-2007, was listed his senior season at 5-9, 202. Hart was hired earlier this year from Indiana to coach the Wolverines' running backs and while Corum is not a mirror image - he's faster than Hart - there are some obvious similarities. While Hart was with the Hoosiers, he recruited Corum, a four-star Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. So the two got to know each other. Corum said before he arrived at Michigan as an early enrollee freshman in 2020, he would watch film of Hart when he played for the Wolverines. "Just looking at old running backs," Corum said. "I've been watching his film. I've been trying to learn from him, pick him apart, look at the moves he used to do when he played and just the way he attacked each and every game. I definitely have been watching him." - Detroit News

(DS#4 RB) Sr/2024

RB Blake Corum, Michigan
News Source: Detroit News
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03/30/21 - Carlo Kemp, Sr/2021, Michigan, 6-3, 281 (DS#23 DT) + More +

He played darn near every position along the defensive line during his Michigan career. Now, Carlo Kemp is looking to add a few more weapons to his arsenal ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, hoping to catch the eye of prospective teams. The 6-foot-2, 281-pound Kemp spent the last few months "getting better at a whole bunch of things," he told reporters last Wednesday, including the introduction of linebacker drills to his routine. "At the NFL level, I could see myself going back and forth like I did here at Michigan," Kemp said. "Being bale to put my hand in the dirt and possibly even standing up, I think, really helps myself going to that next level where you definitely have to be a versatile guy." Kemp says he envisions himself fitting in as a three-technique tackle or a stand-up end in a 3-4 scheme, similar to the role Rashan Gary plays for the Green Bay Packers. The Boulder, Colo., native showed off his athleticism (and speed) at the Hula Bowl on Jan. 31, intercepting a pass from Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello and returning it 34 yards for a touchdown. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#23 DT) Sr/2021

DT Carlo Kemp, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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03/26/21 - Nico Collins, Sr/2021, Michigan, 6-4, 215 (DS#13 WR) + More +

A decision to opt out and take a cash advance from his agent cost Nico Collins the opportunity to play at Michigan in 2020. The Wolverines' star receiver opted out of the abbreviated season last fall, after the Big Ten Conference announced plans to scrap fall sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Collins quickly made the decision, privately, to begin preparing for the NFL draft and signed with Rosenhaus Sports, led by high-profile agent Drew Rosenhaus. "Opting out, that gave me time to focus on the things I needed to improve my game," Collins told reporters on Wednesday, ahead of a scheduled pro-day event Friday in Ann Arbor. "I really self-evaluated my way of playing from last year. Just studying the things that I felt I needed to improve on. So, that's really what I worked on while opting out. That gave me a couple months to really focus on the things I really needed to improve on, and that's what I did." In an October interview with ESPN's Adam Schefter, Collins called the move to opt out of the abbreviated 2020 season a "business decision," citing "too many knowns" for his reason for hanging it up. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#13 WR) Sr/2021

WR Nico Collins, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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03/26/21 - Ambry Thomas, Sr/2021, Michigan, 6-0, 191 (DS#13 CB) + More +

Former Michigan cornerback Ambry Thomas opted out before last season, but despite the time away from the game, he is certain he is among the best at his position. Thomas and 10 of his teammates will participate in Michigan's Pro Day on Friday as they continue preparing for the NFL Draft April 29-May 1. The NFL canceled the combine, so this will give scouts a chance to see how the players test and perform in individual drills. "I was the No. 1 cornerback in the Big Ten before I decided to opt out, and I still am. I truly believe that I'm a top-five cornerback, without a doubt," Thomas told reporters on Wednesday. Before the 2019 season, Thomas, a Detroit-native who played at King, spent a month in the hospital with colitis and lost more than 30 pounds. He returned to start every game and had three interceptions, seven pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and 38 tackles. - Detroit News

(DS#13 CB) Sr/2021

CB Ambry Thomas, Michigan
News Source: Detroit News
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03/14/21 - Andrew Stueber, rSr/2022, Michigan, 6-7, 323 (DS#20 OT) + More +

Andrew Stueber, accustomed to juggling two different roles along the Michigan offensive line, is back at his preferred spot. The fifth-year senior started spring practice at right tackle and expects to play there this fall, he told reporters on Thursday. It's a position Stueber is most familiar with, having started 11 games at right tackle during the 2018 season. "I enjoy tackle. Tackle, I'm most natural at," Stueber said. "I came in as a tackle." But injuries - both to him and elsewhere along the offensive line - forced Michigan's coaching staff to do some rearranging. Steuber was sidelined in 2019 with a torn ACL, an injury that forced him to miss the entire season for rehab. He returned healthy and ready to go in 2020, but the decision was made to move him inside in favor of Jalen Mayfield and the up-and-coming Ryan Hayes. The 6-foot-7, 339-pound Stueber, the staff figured, had the size, experience and versatility to fit inside. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#20 OT) rSr/2022

OT Andrew Stueber, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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03/05/21 - Aidan Hutchinson, Sr/2022, Michigan, 6-7, 268 (DS#1 DE) + More +

Striking an upbeat, positive cord, Aidan Hutchinson said Tuesday he hopes to be fully recovered soon from the ankle fracture that sidelined him during Michigan's 2020 football season. The stalwart at defensive end told reporters that he's back running and able to condition, with the goal of returning to practice by the end of the Wolverines' spring schedule that began over a week ago. "I'm a little over three months now from surgery," Hutchinson, a former all-Big Ten honoree, said. "It's going really good. I'm recovering really fast. "I've been doing everything but the competitive periods. But I should (be back) towards the end of spring ball - I'm going to hop in some of those just to get back into it."

Hutchinson suffered a fracture in his right ankle last November that derailed what was expected to be his final season at Michigan. The 6-foot-6, 269-pound Plymouth, Mich., native had already posted an impressive sophomore season - racking up 68 tackles (10 for a loss), 4 1/2 sacks, six pass deflections and two forced fumbles in 2019 - and an equally productive junior year could have boosted his NFL draft stock. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#1 DE) Sr/2022

DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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02/17/21 - Michael Barrett, rSr/2024, Michigan, 5-11, 233 (DS#10 ILB) + More +

Michigan's football team will get an early jump on spring practice this year, with a start date set for Monday, Feb. 22. The date was confirmed to MLive by a team spokesman late Tuesday, an earlier-than-usual start for the Wolverines after their abbreviated 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Michigan, and all other college football programs, will get 15 practice dates - likely spanning the calendar through March. It's unclear whether the schedule will culminate with an open-to-the-public spring game at Michigan Stadium, as has been the case in years past. Typically, Jim Harbaugh-led Michigan teams begin spring practice in mid-March and conclude sometime in mid-to-late April, before the conclusion of the semester. Last year, in 2020, the Wolverines were set to begin on March 17 before a stay-at-home order effectively closed campus and forced players and coaches to return home. - Ann Arbor News

(DS#10 ILB) rSr/2024

ILB Michael Barrett, Michigan
News Source: Ann Arbor News
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